Pelagic Data Systems and Alan Lovewell working together to bring new technology to California community supported fishery
May 22, 2017 – Pelagic Data Systems (PDS) is working with Alan Lovewell to match PDS’s vessel tracking technology with Mr. Lovewell’s community-supported fishery (CSF), Real Good Fish. Using PDS’s vessel tracking system, Real Good Fish will now provide its customers in northern California with a detailed look at where, when and how their fish was caught.
“From fishermen to seafood lovers, we’re working together to explore the intersection of seafood and technology in the interest of solving some of the toughest problems that face our oceans and plates,” said Mr. Lovewell. “The opportunity for this collaboration is to bring the ocean into our lives in a meaningful way, in a way that inspires health and stewardship.”
The partnership will outfit volunteer boats participating in Real Good Fish with PDS’s vessel tracking technology, which will fully track the vessel’s location and provide an additional level of verification for the species targeted and type of gear used. Along with their delivery, 1,500 Real Good Fish subscribers will receive a weekly email newsletter with a detailed report of the boat that caught their fish.
Mr. Lovewell founded Real Good Fish in 2012 to provide fresh and healthy local seafood directly to the communities of Monterey Bay and San Francisco Bay. The program is a community-supported fishery, which delivers locally sourced, fresh seafood to each of Real Good Fish’s 75 pickup locations throughout Northern California. Real Good Fish provides its subscribers with many sustainably caught fish species, including black cod, dungeness crab, king salmon, lingcod, rockfish, and sanddabs.
“Alan is a talented and creative thinker, committed to designing new ways to reconnect communities with the ocean and their local fisheries for a more sustainable future,” said Melissa Garren, the Chief Scientific Officer for PDS. “Pelagic Data Systems is about bringing new technological capacity to fisheries. We are enthusiastic about this opportunity to combine Alan’s efforts with our systems.”
The first group of boats in Moss Landing and Santa Cruz has been outfitted with PDS’s vessel tracking system. Mr. Lovewell plans to expand the outfitting process after evaluating feedback on the program from fishermen and members.
“I would like to see how this technology helps our fishermen and consumers work more closely together to provide a more enriching, empowering, and collaborative experience for our community,” said Mr. Lovewell.
Pelagic Data Systems and Mr. Lovewell have both been recognized for their work in promoting sustainable and responsible seafood. SeaWeb, an organization that promotes ocean conservation issues, has nominated both PDS and Mr. Lovewell for their annual Seafood Champion Award for Innovation. Mr. Lovewell has been nominated for his work on Real Good Fish, along with Bay2Tray, a program that uses bycatch species to provide local California public schools with an affordable fish lunch. PDS has been recognized for its affordable, solar-powered vessel-tracking technology that has been used to improve seafood traceability and combat IUU fishing in countries across the globe.
Both PDS and Mr. Lovewell will attend the SeaWeb Seafood Summit in Seattle June 5-7, where award winners will be announced.
About Pelagic Data Systems
Pelagic Data Systems (PDS) is the creator of ultra-lightweight vessel tracking systems for boats of all sizes. PDS's innovative vessel tracking system is completely solar-powered and affordable, and helps fishers and regulators alike collect the fishing data that they value most. PDS is active in Southeast Asia, Africa, and throughout the Americas where its technology is being used to combat illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing and help fishers maintain their livelihoods.
About Alan Lovewell
Alan Lovewell is the CEO and co-founder of Real Good Fish, a community supported fishery (CSF) that delivers weekly shares of local and sustainable seafood to communities throughout the Monterey and San Francisco Bay areas. Working with fishermen from as far north as Fort Bragg to as far south as Santa Barbara, we have 75 pick-up locations from Marin County to the north, Oakland to the east, and Carmel to the south. Our pick-up locations are community hubs where people gather, including neighborhood homes, libraries, or gyms. In addition, Alan Lovewell co-founded the Bay2Tray program, which brings local, sustainable seafood otherwise caught as bycatch to local school children throughout our region. This creates a triple win scenario for fishermen, the environment, and future generations. We believe the foundation for sustainable fisheries is built by closer relationships between fishermen and consumers, creating a more empowered system of local stewardship of our precious marine resources. Learn more about the CSF movement at http://www.localcatch.org.